Caverly who is retiring from her post as town administrator after nearly 43 years working in the town office, was told at her retirement party that the meeting room on the lower floor of the town office will now be officially named the Barbara Eva Caverly room.

“That just came totally out of left field,” said Caverly, who also was given a piece of luggage and a Kindle. “I did not expect gifts. I’m very honored.”

Caverly was hired as a secretary to the Select Board in 1971.

“In June that year, Charlie Adams, who had been treasurer, passed away,” Caverly said. “I blithely said, ‘If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.’ That was the start of my term as treasurer.”

Caverly, who was soon elected treasurer, said the town office was a one-person operation for years.

“It was a lot of paper and pencil work back then. When I first started, I had to copy names from the previous year’s blotter book into a new book, and manually calculate tax bills. But it wasn’t a major problem. It’s been really interesting to watch how things have evolved as the town has grown.”

Caverly’s titles switched over the years to administrative assistant and then to town administrator. One of her accomplishments, she said, was to encourage the Select Board to hire an outside auditor.

“I also got the board to acknowledge that there needs to be a separate treasurer,” she said. “It was good to get my position out of the financial end of things.”

Caverly, 72, is preparing to sell her Hancock home and move to North Carolina, where two of her daughters and four of her grandchildren live.

“I’m ready to go where you still get seasons but the winter isn’t as long,” she said.